Buddhism FAQ
=Buddhism FAQ= (Frequently Asked Questions About Buddhism) ---- 1. What is Buddhism & What is Buddhist Awakening? Buddhism is a process of Spiritual Awakening. An ordinary person (in delusion ; Also Avijja ; Sanskrit Avidya , not knowing inner truth) An ordinary person experiences the world through sensual organs and develops bonds of likes & dislikes to the material world, which lead to cravings or hatred. These bonds are also called Sanhara(Sankhara; sanskrit sanskar) . After death one may be reborn in any state & in any world according to one's deeds (karma). Good deeds (donation etc) may win one heaven as an angel or as human again, harmful/lustful bad deeds may lead to 4 woeful states of suffering (animal/insect, ghost/peta, hell or asura/violent demon). These bonds lead a person to many many rebirths and in every rebirth one experiences suffering. (Though angelic rebirths in heavens are of bliss but end of angelic life also causes suffering). Thus every creature is getting reborn again & again for many (uncountable) number of times. The devil (called Mara ; pronounced Maar in pali) sees that every creature remains in the bonds & thus gets rebirth again & again. Removing these evil bonds of likes & dislikes will cause awakening & finally to Nirvana/Moksha/Salvation. This Awakening is achieved through : (a) Morality/Ethics such as No stealing, No Lies, No violence, No intoxication & No sex. This is to ensure that nervous system remains capable for spiritual awakening. (b) Meditation : It is achieved through first, focussing attention on breath while removing thoughts to keep steady attention and then secondly, entire body is scanned with attention moving to various organs while keeping mind in equanimity i.e. keeping attitude of neither like nor dislike to any feeling/sensations. At the end of meditation goodwill is transmitted to all beings with this idea 'May all beings be happy' Meditation (as in Vipassana) The meditation acts as a soap to eliminate dirt/bonds of likes & dislike to the world. If a person dies before experiencing any level of awakening, one's fate will be similar to an ordinary person(above). However, the fruits of meditation are not lost, in some future lifetime, the divines help such persons to again learn meditation & the progress continues. After a long practice of meditation (may take years), Trance states are achieved and 4 types of Awakening occur step by step , all with extreme bliss : ---- 1. First, Within : One experiences the entire spinal column & brain filled with divine light ,super charged as well as radiating goodwill to all: First Awakening This state occurs in the first four trance states(1,2,3 & 4, see at end of page) when a lot of evil bonds are shattered. A person achieving first awakening now understands the divine element within, which is one's very source of life. This person now refrains from doing any wrong act because the bad act may deprive one from the experience of the first awakening. This person is now freed from being reborn into any state of suffering (animal/insect, ghost/peta, hell or asura/violent). Rather one can only be reborn 7 times, that also in the higher states either in human world or in heaven as angel/deva and there too one practices meditation and will become free(achieve Nirvana) in 7 rebirths only. The state is called Sotapana (one who is in the stream/sota). ---- 2. Second, Universal: The attention expands & permeates now to entire universe upto infinite space with infinite consciousness. One can know anything anywhere even the upper heavens filled with arch angels(brahmalokas), heavens with angels(devas), all the material world, the world of ghosts and also various hells: This state occurs in trance states 5 & 6 (see list below) when most of evil bonds are removed but only little remain. A person achieving this state now understands one's unity & link with all the creatures (as I everywhere) . And after death of the body , this person may be reborn only 3 times either in heaven as angel/deva or in upper-heaven/brahmaloka as arch-angel/brahma (as being with form & mind) and there also one continues meditation and gets liberated (achieves Nirvana) according to the efforts put in. This state is called Sakadagami (one who returns). Magical powers may also be attained here (and also in next stages). ---- 3.Third, Nothingness : Now the attention is withdrawn from the worldly and all worlds vanish from the sphere of attention, nothingness/emptiness (this is only an intermediate state): This state occurs in trance states 7 & 8 (see list below) when extremely little evil bonds remain. A person achieving this state now understands that there is nothing real & everything is unreal as illusion, virtual reality ,as mirage and as pictures shown on screen in cinema hall. After the death of the body , this person may be reborn only one time that also in the highest upper-heaven/brahmaloka as arch-angel/brahma (having no form but having only mind) and there also continues meditation and gets liberated (achieves Nirvana) from there. This state is called Anagami (one who does not return after getting reborn). ---- 4. Fourth, Nirvana : The final state of Nirvana when one experiences as becoming the ocean of divine light, everywhere, eternal state having no change , no time & final bliss, what people of other faiths also call as God (Buddha was also called as Bhagava or Bhagavanta meaning God): This occurs in trance state no. 9. Here all the evil bonds are removed completely. A person achieving this state now understands reaching the non-returnable other shore. Here one experiences 3 phenomenon (1) Seeing past lives & knowing how one lived & what acts caused what effects (many past rebirths).(2) The lives of other creatures are also known with divine eye , along with knowledge of cause & effect . (3) The understanding of elimination of one's all evil bonds completely. After achieving this state of Nirvana/Moksha, there is no more rebirth, the state of final enlightenment. It is also elimination of the sense of 'I' or self because one's identity now merges with the universal singular state (Nirvana) which Buddha called as the ocean of (divine) light. ---- The entire process of awakening can be understood from the metaphor of the flip of a coin with the worlds on one side and Nirvana on the other side of the coin. The intermediate state in which coin stands on edge is the state of nothingness. ---- List of various trance states : 1.First Awakening, Within Self(divine light in brain & spine) 2.Without Thoughts (only pure attention within) 3.Equanimous(all above but beyond Likes & Dislikes) 4.Detachment(from I/self while experiencing all above) 5.Perception of Infinite Space 6.Infinite consciousness (I everywhere) 7.Nothingness/Emptiness 8.Neither perception nor non-perception (Transcendence from worldly Plane) 9.Nirvana/Moksha(non returnable state, no more rebirths) Source : The various Trance states (9 Nos.) are described here : SN 36.19 Pancakanga Sutta and also Ariyapariyesana_Sutta